A chance to relax and waltz into a New Year in the company of some
of the best music-makers around.

What we are talking here is the now traditional Viennese Whirl, a
style of concert which in Vienna is an integral part of New Year
celebrations and one which is fast becoming a fixture here in
Huddersfield too.

The tradition is very much a fledgling one at Huddersfield Town
Hall but since its introduction in recent years, the waltzing music of
Strauss and the charm of Vienna has become a firm favourite in our own
musical calendar.

If past experience is anything to go by, music lovers need to book
early for this already much-loved concert which will light up the Town
Hall on the afternoon of Thursday, December 28.

That's when the Orchestra of Opera North, featuring the
popular Christian Gansch (conductor), and Mairad Buicke (soprano), will
help get concertgoers into a relaxed and celebratory mood.

They will be celebrating the New Year a couple of days early with
time-honoured classics including The Blue Danube, the Tritsch Tratsch
Polka and the Skaters' Waltz plus the Champagne Polka complete with
popping corks, party poppers and cheers.

Opera North's own Dougie Scarfe presents a concert that is
typical of those made popular in Vienna. With him the Orchestra of Opera
North brings to Huddersfield its own Viennese friend and conductor,
Christian Gansch, to ensure the performance has a genuine Austrian feel.

Concert conductor Christian Gansch will be more than happy as this
is his favourite repertoire. Christian was born in Austria and studied
piano and violin in Vienna. He became the leader of the Vienna Chamber
Orchestra when he was just 17. It was a position that he held for 10
years.

His conducting career began in 1985 and he has since worked with
numerous European orchestras, including the City of Birmingham, the
Royal Scottish National, the Hall, the BBC Symphony and the Orchestra of
Opera North in this country. He has been a regular guest conductor with
the Russian National Orchestra since 1998.

The soprano Mairad Buicke will sing Dvorak's Song to the Moon
and an excerpt from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Mairad, a
recent graduate of the National Opera Studio, brings her Irish charm and
wonderfully lyrical tones to Huddersfield for this concert of true
celebration.

What better company could you be in as we approach the New Year?

This Viennese Whirl is an afternoon concert for the whole family.
It begins at 2pm and tickets are pounds 12 all areas (plus pounds 4
concession for under 26s) from Kirklees booking offices or the ticket
hotline: 01484 223200/01924 324501.

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